


A Place For Everyone, and Everyone in Their Place

by Beruthiel



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: First Meetings, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-27
Updated: 2015-12-27
Packaged: 2018-05-09 17:49:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5549759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beruthiel/pseuds/Beruthiel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How Andromeda Black and Ted Tonks first met.  It went well, until it didn't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Place For Everyone, and Everyone in Their Place

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a LiveJournal challenge in 2006. Prompt: "All that is gold does not glitter."

**A Place for Everyone and Everyone in Their Place**

****  
  
1 September 1966  


Ted Tonks was ordinarily not a shy or reclusive boy, but as he climbed out of his boat and followed the other first-years towards the castle, he was considering running away to spend the rest of his life in a remote cave.

Buying his school supplies in Diagon Alley hadn’t been so bad. The letter that had come on his eleventh birthday had explained how to find the place and what to expect there, but it had said nothing about how to actually live among witches and wizards.

In Diagon Alley he’d had his parents with him, and even though they were just as clueless as he was, somehow it wasn’t scary. The journey to Hogwarts School, however, was his first time alone in the magical world, and it was terrifying.

On the train, everyone else had seemed to know each other, and no one had been eager to speak to a scrawny little new kid like him. All the talk he’d overheard had been about stuff he’d never heard of. Even the food from the trolley that went by at lunchtime had been bizarre. Ted had felt no less out of place than if he had awoken that morning to find himself on another planet.

Things might have been okay, though, if only he hadn’t introduced himself to that group of kids in the next compartment. They hadn’t looked more than a year or so older than him; stupidly, he’d thought they might take pity on him. How wrong he’d been . . .

Ted was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn’t notice the girl crouched in front of him, tying her shoelace – until he walked into her.

With a yelp he pitched forward, threw out his hands before him, and somehow ended up flat on his back.

_Brilliant move,_ he thought. _Why don’t you just jump in the lake and put yourself out of your misery? Idiot._

“Are you all right?” someone asked. Ted opened his eyes to see the girl he’d tripped over standing above him.

“Yup,” he muttered, getting to his feet. “Sorry about that.”

The girl brushed off her robes. “We’d better get moving, we’ve fallen behind,” she said, pointing to the other first-years, who were indeed a good distance ahead. The two of them set off.

“Where did you learn that thing you just did?” she asked as they walked.

“What thing?”

“When you fell over me, you went head-first and then flipped right over in the air. I thought you were going to break your neck for a moment. How’d you do that?”

“Oh.” Ted hadn’t realized he’d done anything spectacular. “I dunno. Just lucky, I guess.”

“You must have used magic! Pretty good for a first-year, you know. Even my sister couldn’t have done that without a wand, and she’s really good.”

“Oh.” Had he really used magic just now? How was he supposed to learn to control this thing if he couldn’t even tell when he was using it? He’d probably be expelled for being hopelessly terrible at it.

Maybe changing the subject would keep him from looking too ignorant. “Does your sister go to school here?” he asked.

“Yes, she’s in second year. I have a younger sister too; she’ll be starting here in three years. How about you?”

“I’ve got a sister and two brothers, but none of them come here.”

They fell silent for a moment as they reached the rear of the group, until Ted asked timidly, “Have you done much magic before?”

“Oh yes. I know we’re not supposed to, but I’ve practiced with my parents’ wands loads of times. I accidentally turned my cousin purple once. He deserved it, though.”

“What’d he do?”

“Kept pestering me to help him collect flobberworms to put in his little brother’s supper. I wouldn’t, so he hid dungbombs in my bedroom, and told his brother that I put the flobberworms in his food. Nobody believed him, but the dungbombs really stank.”

Though Ted didn’t know what dungbombs or flobberworms were, he could sympathise. “My brothers do stuff like that all the time. Wish I knew how to turn them purple.”

“I actually meant to turn his hair into flobberworms, but he didn’t like being purple, so that was good enough.”

“Is he still purple?”

“Of course not, my mum fixed him.” She giggled. “Eventually.”

Ted grinned. “Does he do things like that a lot?”

“Not to me. He mostly picks on his poor brother. He can be a right little sod sometimes, but most of the time he’s okay.”

“Sounds just like my brothers,” Ted chuckled.

“Have you ever done something like that?” the girl asked.

“Only once, I think,” he said. “When I was seven. A bloke from the bookshop up the street nearly killed me, but he wound up killing some flowers instead.”

“Really?” The girl sounded fascinated. “What happened?”

As Ted worked out where to begin his tale, the first-years came to an entrance to the castle, and the huge fellow leading the group rapped on the doors. A woman in a pointed hat opened them right away and beckoned the students inside.

“It’s a long story,” he whispered. “I’ll tell you later.”

* * *

The first-years stood in a line, waiting to be led to the Great Hall for the Sorting Ceremony. Ted had gotten separated from the girl he’d been talking to outside, and all his nervousness, temporarily forgotten, came rushing back.

He wiped his sweaty palms on his robes. How were they going to be sorted? Would he have to use magic? What would happen if he couldn’t? From the way the girl had talked about it, everyone here already knew some magic; would they kick him out when they realized he knew nothing? What was he even doing here? He couldn’t possibly belong with these people, if that gang on the train were an indication of what to expect.

What if those kids were popular? He was doomed to endless humiliation if the story of his little escapade with them got around. Whatever had he been thinking to reveal his lack of knowledge in front of them?

He chewed his lip anxiously. The nastiest of the gang, a truly frightening, black-haired girl, had declared him a “Mudblood,” whatever that meant, and things had gone downhill from there. He could hardly bear to recall it. Was that what he had to look forward to all year?

Ted could see the girl he’d just spoken to up at the front of the line. Would she still be friendly if he became an outcast? He doubted it. Too bad; she was the nicest person he’d met all day.

The witch who had brought them in announced that it was time for the Sorting, and all thoughts promptly vanished from Ted’s mind, replaced by a wave of panic.

* * *

A singing hat. _This_ was how they sorted people? Weird.

Of course, what did it matter how they did it? Ted was sure he didn’t qualify for any of these houses anyway. He wasn’t cunning or gallant or brilliantly witty. How had he even got into this school in the first place?

The witch began reading their names off a scroll.

“Richard Affordson,” she called out.

A boy with thick glasses walked hesitantly to the stool and put on the hat. A moment later it shouted, “GRYFFINDOR!”

Richard was directed to one of the four long tables, and the next student was called.

“Gordon Albrecht.”

“RAVENCLAW!”

“Andromeda Black.”

The girl Ted had fallen over stepped up confidently and put on the hat with an excited grin. The hat shouted, “SLYTHERIN!” after barely five seconds.

As Andromeda removed the hat and headed for her table, she caught Ted’s eye and smiled at him. He started to smile back, and even lifted his hand to wave, when he glimpsed the Slytherin table. Sitting at the near end was the black-haired girl who had terrorised him on the train.

Ted quickly stepped behind a fat boy, his already racing heart now pounding so loudly that he wouldn’t have been surprised if the whole castle collapsed. He wiped his hands on his robes again and took a peek back at the Slytherins, just to make sure the scary girl hadn’t noticed him.

No, thank god, she wasn’t looking in his direction. She was . . . hugging Andromeda Black, who had sat down right next to her.

Ted blinked. Was he seeing properly? How could Andromeda and that horrid girl be friends? 

Wait, hadn’t Andromeda mentioned a sister? 

What a wonderful way to start the year. The only person who’d been nice to him happened to be the sister of the most horrible person he’d ever met, whose bad side he was already on. He couldn’t expect Andromeda to defend him, a mere stranger, if her sister hated him. Lovely.

Trying not to dwell on his impending doom, he turned his attention back to the Sorting.

“Gilderoy Lockhart.”

A tall, blond boy swaggered up to the stool and sat down as if it were a throne.

“GRYFFINDOR!” the hat declared moments later.

Gilderoy removed the hat carefully and smoothed his hair before going to the Gryffindor table with a smug smile. Ted was reminded of his sister’s constant primping in front of mirrors.

“Abigail Lotte.”

“SLYTHERIN!”

As the list approached the T’s, Ted’s hands grew increased damp, despite frequent wiping on his robes. What would the hat do with him? What if his name wasn’t even on the list?

“Danielle Taffle.”

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

“Oscar Tilbury.”

“RAVENCLAW!”

“Theodore Tonks.”

Ted gulped and made his way to the stool on legs that seemed to have turned to mush. He sat down, clasped his hands, and waited for the hat to order him thrown out.

“Now why would I do that?” a little voice spoke into his ear.

_Because I don’t belong here,_ Ted thought morosely. _I’m not a real wizard like the others. I can’t do fancy spells or anything._

“All that is gold does not glitter,” the voice answered cryptically. “Hmm, you have an excellent mind when you can be bothered to use it; there’s courage in there, too. And you’re very devoted to your family, aren’t you?”

_What’s that got to do with anything?_

“We’ll see. There’s not much you wouldn’t do for them, is there?”

_Of course not._

“Why?”

_Why what?_ Ted was getting confused. Why didn’t the hat just agree that he didn’t belong here and get it over with?

“Why are your family so important?” asked the hat.

_Because, well, they just are,_ said Ted. _They’re always there, and I always know I have a place with them, you know? They’d stick up for me no matter what, so I’d stick up for them, too._

“You’re a very loyal boy,” said the hat, sounding pleased. “I’d say such devotion is quite worthy of the name of wizard, wouldn’t you? Yes, I know just where to put you.

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

Relief flooded through Ted. He took off the hat and stumbled to the Hufflepuff table, where his new housemates greeted him with welcoming smiles.

* * *

As the students dug into their feast, Andromeda Black found herself eyeing Theodore Tonks.

The poor boy had looked terrified while he waited to be sorted, but he seemed to have recovered now. He was chattering easily with the boy next to him, apparently unaware of the soup he was dribbling onto his robes. He was the only person she’d met today who hadn’t tried to impress her with how pure their blood was or who they were related to, and she found his modesty refreshing.

Not to mention, she was mighty curious about the murderous bookshop bloke and the unfortunate flowers.

Her sister Bellatrix followed her gaze and snorted. “There’s that Mudblood who tried to get friendly with us on the train,” she said, wrinkling her nose.

“Him?” Andromeda asked, pointing at Theodore. Bellatrix nodded.

“Oh.” Andromeda lowered her eyes to her food. For a moment she wondered if she could make friends with him anyway, but quickly squashed that idea. She was a Black, and she knew her place; Blacks did not associate with Mudbloods.

_Too bad, though,_ she thought, trying to ignore her disappointment. She hadn’t spoken to him long, but she rather liked him, even if he did dribble his soup.

* * *

_5 September 1966_

_Dear Mother, Father, and Narcissa,_

_I’m all settled in at Hogwarts, and I think I’ll like it here very much._

_I’ve been sorted into Slytherin, like you wanted. Professor Slughorn is friendly. I think he’s going to ask me to join the Slug Club. It must be because of the Black name; he completely ignores the other first-years, and hasn’t learnt all the second-years’ names yet._

_If you want a piece of my mind, he can’t be a very good Head of House. From what I’ve heard so far, half the Slytherins can’t stand his favouritism, and even his favourites think he’s a pompous git. I wonder if the Headmaster knows how much he ignores his own house. He’s supposed to be responsible for all of us, isn’t he?_

_Our first night Bella hexed all the new Slytherins, including me, as soon as we got to our common room. She’s going to pay for that._

_And Cissy, you can relax. You won’t have to share a room with boys._

_Say hello to Sirius and Regulus for me._

_Sincerely,  
Andromeda_

* * *

_5 Sep 1966_

_Dear Everyone,_

_I already miss you guys like mad. Everything’s different here. Hogwarts is a real castle! This place has ghosts, paintings that talk, passwords, and a giant squid in the lake, and I wish you could see the Sorting Hat!_

_When we got here we went to this huge room with a magic ceiling, and then an old hat sang a song and told us what houses we were in._

_Hogwarts has four houses, and the Sorting Hat kind of reads your mind and tells you which one you should be in. Mine’s called Hufflepuff. Why does that remind me of the Three Little Pigs?_

_The older Hufflepuffs are really nice. They brought sweets for a little party the first night, and they all introduced themselves to us new kids, even the seventh-years._

_I think my favourite subject will be Defence Against the Dark Arts. Turns out vampires and werewolves actually exist! Herbology was kind of boring, but we might get to see man-eating plants in a few years! The Herbology teacher is Professor Sprout, who’s in charge of Hufflepuff. It’s her first year here, so no one’s sure what it’ll be like, but she seems okay._

_There’s all sorts of stuff here I don’t know anything about, like how owls deliver letters, and how certain types of blood are better for some reason, and some game called Quidditch. I asked what that was, and everyone stared at me like I was an idiot. I’m not the only one who’s new to all this, but somehow the others haven’t embarrassed themselves so far. I think I can figure things out, but it’ll take a while. I don’t want to ask about anything else, I’d look too stupid. I already made a fool of myself on the train. The way I see it, dignity is very important to wizards._

_Too bad Jennifer isn’t a witch. She’s older, she could have warned me about all that._

_We need to get an owl. They really do deliver letters, and I don’t think we get regular post here. I’ll have to borrow one to send you this._

_The wizards had a big war during World War 2, with a really evil fellow named Grindomold or Grindovolt or something. A real magical war! Cool, huh?_

_You‘d never believe the names wizards have. Half the people here have such funny names that Tonks doesn’t sound bad at all. I think there are boys round here somewhere called Lucius and Gilderoy. Poor guys._

_Maybe Phil and Dave will turn out to be wizards like me. They’d love it here._

_I hope I can manage not to look too foolish._

_I miss you guys._

_Love,  
Ted_

* * *

Leaving the owlery after sending his letter with a borrowed owl, Ted rounded a corner and walked straight into a girl, nearly knocking them both to the floor.

“Oh, bollocks, sorry,” he muttered, bowing his head to hide his blush.

“No magical acrobatics this time?” the girl asked, sounding amused. It was the same girl he’d tripped over the night of the Sorting.

“Uh, no. Did you have a nice day today, um, Amanda?”

“Andromeda,” she corrected, “and yes, I did, Theodore.” For a moment she seemed to want to say more, but apparently changed her mind. Dropping her eyes, she gestured towards the owlery, and Ted noticed the letter in her hand.

“I have to post this,” she said, her voice lacking its previous friendliness.

“Right.” Ted stepped aside to let her pass. “See you around.”

“See you.” Eyes still down, she hurried on her way.

_Her sister must have told her about me._

He sighed and headed back the Hufflepuff dormitory.

Oh, well. Some friendships just weren’t meant to be.


End file.
